Apparatus for shelling nuts



Nov. 5, 1940.

P. DRAGON 2,220,320

APPARATUS FOR SHELLING NUTS Filed July 27, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOK. 7 I94 UL DRA ao/v BY M ATTORNEY.

Nov. 5, 1940. P. DRAG O'N APPARATUS FOR SfiELiLING NUTIS Filed July 27, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

' PA u1 DRAGON ATTORNEY.

Nov. 5, 1940. P. DRAGON APPARATUS FOR SHELLING NUTS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 27, 1938 1147 u u u INVENTOR 7 PAUL DRAGON I ATTORNEY.

Nov. 5, 1940. RDRAGQN "2,220,320

APPARATUS FOR SHELLING NUTS Filed July 27, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

E4u1 DRAGON ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED S ATES.

PATENT orrica T 1 APPARATUS r'oa SHELLING NUTS l 'aulnragomlsan Francisco, Calif. H Application'luly 21-, 1938, Serial no.zz1,5a2 g I -20laims. (01.140-11) This invention relates to a device-for shelling nuts. An object of this invention is to provide an apparatus whereby nuts can be completely freed from the shells without any injury to the meat of the nut; said apparatus includes means whereby the cracked nuts are automatically separated and sorted and the nuts partly shelled are returned for repeated shelling automatically; particularly my apparatus includes means for cracking the nuts preferably by rolling pressure, then separating the cracked meat of the nuts and shells according to the absence or presence of meat in the cracked shells and passingthem in separated paths subjecting the nuts on said paths to suction suificient to lift the looseernpty shells but not strong enough to lift the 'meat'of the nut,

and automatically returning the shells still containing meat for repeated cracking and shelling.

'Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for cracking and shelling nuts wherein the nuts can be efficiently cracked and shelled, means beingprovided for automatically separating the meat from the partly cracked nuts 26 and from the shell, means being providedfor re- -moving the loose shell duringthe travel of the products of the cracker, and means'being pro-. vided for returning the "shells containing meat' to the same or to an auxiliary shelling device for go repeated treatments.

Another object 'of this invention is te provide the general arrangements and. combinations of 40 the several devices and parts, as well as in the details of the construction thereof without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the following specification, and as defined in the followingclaims; hence'I do not limit myinvention to'the exact arrangements and combinations of the said device and parts as described in the said specification, nor do I confine myself to the exact details of the construction of 50 the said parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

With the foregoing and-other objects in view,

which will be made manifest in the following detailed description and specifically pointed out in 55 the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for the illustrative embodimerit ofthe invention, wherein: Fig. 1 is a front view of 'my'machine. Fig. 2' is a side view of my machine. Fig. 3 is a detail view of a rotor for hulling nuts. 6 t Fig. 4 is a fragmental view of-the conveyor showing the suction conduits in section. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the cracker mech-' anism in my apparatus. 1 l

Fig. 6 is a plan view of 'therot'ary drum in my 10 cracking mechanism. v .Fig. '7 is'a fragmental', sectional view of the sucti'on adjuster of my device.

' Fig. 8 is [a side view of a blower for my suction device, the cover being removed. I a {15 Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view of, said blower.

Fig. 10 is a fragmental side view, showing the" preferred construction of the separator of mydevice.

Fig-11 is a fragmental'partly sectional plan" 20 view of my cracking mecha'nismif p p p Fig. 12 is 'a fragmental partly: sectional plan view' of my cracking mechanism. V i I Fig, 13 is a fragmental, sectional view' of the suction conduit at-arr end of a nut: carrying con- 26 veyor. I W v Fig. 14 is a sectio al view of theconveyor taken on the line 14-44 of Fig.

Fig. 1 5 is afragmental'js'omewhat diagram:

matic view of a' stepped: conveyorfand suction 30 In my apparatus the nuts are. subjectedfirst toa force to sever the shells; Preferably, the forceapplied that of rolling pressure. In the present illustrative embodiment the nutsare sub- 85,

lected to yieldableflrolling pressure for cracking the shells. The products of said cracking step are then separated so that the meat of the nuts and the portions ofthe shells still, containing meat are movingon separate paths and-are subjected 40 to regulated suction for removing only the empty shells from said meat or partly cleaned shells. The products passing said sucking action may be,

suitably loosened to facilitate therernoval of" the 1' empty shells. Then the meat of the nuts is collected but the pieces of, shells still containing meat are automatically returned. for repeated. cracking and shelling andthen reintroduced to, said paths. The second rolling pressure to which;

said pieces of shells containing meatsare sub jected' is preferably stiffer than the first 'rollingj pressure. The apparatus for cracking the pieces I or broken portions of nuts involves the applying of rolling'pressure in a gradually diminishing I space so as to crack the pieces of partly filled shells of all forms and sizes.

- movable frusto-conical hollow lining 36 the inner 35. rue lining 36 has a hopper 31 formed in its In carrying out my invention I make use of a hopper l2 from which the nuts are carried by a suitable conveyor, such as a bucket conveyor I3, and dumped into a cracking mechanism 14. Adjacent to this cracking mechanism i4 is located a second cracking mechanism l4 both discharging the cracked and shellednuts through discharge conduits 15 to an outlet "common to both, which latter feeds into the center ofa screen sifter or rotary separator I6. The separator i 6 is adapted to grade the products of cracking andlit separately discharges the meat of the nuts onto the side I9 of a conveyor 21- between a fixed partition 22and the separator II. The pieces of shells still containing meat are discharged from the separator Home the other side 23 of the conveyor 2|. The meat of the nut is passed beneath a pair'of suction conduits 24 which suck the lighter empty shell pieces that may be mixed with the meat of the nuts so that the meat of the nuts can be collected at the end of the conveyor 2l clean from all loose shell. The pieces of shells containing meat are also carriedpast another suction conduit 26 whereby the .loose and empty shells are lifted ofi the outer conveyor side 23. The shell pieces on the outer conveyor side 23l that still contain meat are dumped from the conveyor onto another bucket conveyor 21 which carries the partly cleaned pieces of shells, into the first cracker mechanism if only one unit is used, or into the second cracker. unit-l4 from which latter the recracked nutis reintroduced into the separator i6 as heretofore described.

"In detail my apparatus includes a frame 26 so arranged that the conveyor 2| is supported below the separator lland the cracking mechanisms i4 and I4 are. supported above the level of the separator I6. Behind the separator "|6 on the frame 261s located an electric motor 29 which through a drive shaft 3| and through suitable transmissions transmits .rotation to blowers 32 which latter are connected respectively to the suction conduits 24 and 26. The motor 29 is also suitably connected to another drive shaft 33' from whichrotation is suitable transmitted tothe, cracking'mechanisms and I4. The conveyor 2| and the bucket conveyors l3 and 21 are also driven by suitable transmissions taking'the power from a shaft 33 from which latter rotation is also transmittedto the separator 16.

The first cracking mechanism l4 as shown in" Fig. 5 includes a hollow casing 34 which. has a downwardly converging frusto conical upper por tion open at its top. Into this casing'34 fits a reperipheryof which is roughened by protuberances top with a central intake opening 36 into the interior of the lining 36. The lower portion of the casing 34- hasa side outlet opening 39 and is divided transversely by a partition wall 41 which latter inclines downwardly toward the lower edge of the outlet opening 39 so as to'direct'the products falling down from the lining 36 toward said outlet'opening 39. On this-partition wall 4! is a vertical journal 42. -A vertical shaft 43 is supported in the journal by means of its collar 44 resting on the top of the journal 42. The upper end of the shaft 43 is a threaded. A pair of spaced drums 46 are threadin an adjusted position, such as by a removable key. Each drum 46 is comparatively narrow and is provided with yieldable or resiliently compressible pressure'surfaces in the form of spaced cushions 41 either inserted into the drum periphery or formed on a ring pressed on the'drum periphery. It is preferable that these pressure cushions 41 have arcuate outer periphery to apply rolling pressure on nuts between the lining 36- and the respective drums 46. Rubber composition cushions with hard wearing surface and vulcanized to the drums 46 were found efficient for this purpose. The drums 46 are readily replaceable and are adjustable relatively to the lining 36 by removing the fastening key and then turning the drums 46 on the threaded portion 6 of the vertical shaft 43 so as to adjust downwardly if the narrowing of the cracking space is desired, or to adjust upwardly if a widening or enlargement of the cracking space is desired, according to the size or- 'form of nuts to, be shelled. In all adjustments the conical outer surface of the drums 46 converges with the inner periphery of the lining 36 and defines a downwardly diminishing pressure space. The rotation of the drums 46 is effected by rotating the vertical shaft 43 by means of a suitable worm and gear transmission 46 located in the space below the partition wall 4| in the casing 34. The shaft 43 receives power by any suitable means from the outside-as heretofore stated.

, The rotary sifter or separator I8 includes an outer drum 49 which is preferably cylindrical. An external gear ring 5| onthe drum 46 is engaged by a gear 52 on the drive shaft 33 for rotatingtheseparator drum.46. The separator drum 49 is supportedon rollers or idlers 53 in a downwardly inclined position toward the con-- veyor 2|,v On radial arms or spokes 54 inside of the ,49 are held concentric sifter or.

separator. drums 55 and 56.. Both of the sifter drums 55 and 56 are preferably constructed, as

shown in Fig. '10, so as tohave elongated perforations or apertures 51 through the walls thereof. In the herein illustrativeembodiment a plurality of longitudinal wires or bars 56 are held in circumferentially spaced'relation to form a skele-' ton cylinder by means of spaced loops or rings 59. The spaces or apertures 51 in the inner drum? 55 are larger than the apertures" of the' outer drum 56. The object of the relative sizes of the apertures 51 is, to permit shelled half nuts and smaller pieces to work through the wall of the 55 and as the product moves toward the lower ends of the drums of the separator l8 it is'carried around the drums and works its way sothat all the loose meat of 'the nuts works through the apertures 51 of the innermost drum 55 and into the outer sifter drum 56. It is to be noted that the inner sifterdrum 55 extends beyond the endof the outersifter drum 56 and over the outer conveyor side 23, while the inner sifter drum 56 extends over the inner conveyor;

side IS. A front shield 63 on the end of the outermost' drum 48 covers thespace between the outer sitter drum 58 and'the outermost drum 48 to prevent the dust that may be gathered in the bottom of the separator l8 from being dumped onto the conveyor 2|'. This shield 83 has a lip 84 which extends over the innerconveyor side' l8 so as to guide the meat of the nut well over the conveyor side l8. Behind the shield 83 is a small space and the shield 83 has an extension 65 to guide the dust or small particles from the drum 18 away fromthe conveyor 2| and well below the frames 28. If so desired this dust may be collected'in a suitable container not shown. g r

' The conveyor 2| is the usual endless conveyor and the two paths thereon are formed by the stationary partition strip 22 fixed on the frame of the device. In order to facilitate the lifting of empty shells from the inner path of the con veyor 2|, "a transverse, flat bar 66 is provided across the conveyor below each suction conduit 24. The scraper bars'88 -'are preferably slightly inclined toward the direction of the approaching nuts so as to cause the meat to ride over said fiat bars 66 below the respective suction conduits 24 thereby to loosen the empty shells and facilitate the lifting thereof by suction. The cleaned meat of the nuts can -be collected at the end of the conveyor side IS in any suitablecontainer or receiver not shown. The outer side 23' of the conveyor 2| receives the pai'tly cleaned or broken shells still containing meat, or larger pieces of shells, from the inner sifter drum of the separator |8. There are cross bars 61 on this outer conveyor side 23 between which the broken pieces are loosely carried and are cleaned of empty have the rolling pressure elements less yieldable.

The stiffer rolling pressure'elements can break up the shells that were not brokenaand cleaned in the first mechanism l4. For this purpose in this illustrative embodiment a larger pressure cone B8 is shown in Fig. 1. This cone 68 is wider than the aforedescribed yieldable drums 48 and is.

stiffer. A plurality of alternating sharp and dull projections extend from the pressure cone 68. The pressure space 12 is comparatively narrow and it gradually diminishes toward the bottom to break up even smaller pieces of shells that still contain meat. The pressure cone 88 is adjustable and removable in the manner described in connection with the pressure drums 46 of the first cracking mechanism It.

It is to be noted that the same device may be used for hulling and shelling. For instance for hulling almonds and also shelling the same inthe same operation, a third sifter drum 13 may be provided as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 2.

a huller rotor shown in Fig. 3, in place of the pressure drums 48. Thehuller .rotor TI includes a hub I8 which is secured on the threaded portion of. the vertical-shaft ll. .Substantially radial fingers" extend from the hub I8 5 of'the rotor 11 toward the periphery of the lining36.v The fingers l8 arecurved on their outside end toward the direction of rotation ofthe rotor 11 so as to roll, press and claw theihulls of the nuts. travelling down .the incline ofthe 1181-. ing 38. The fingers 18 are resilient. Whenmh huller rotor is utilized in the first crackin'gzm'echanism ll of the apparatus then the second cracks ing mechanism I4' is provided with the rolling pressure drums so that the hulled almo'nds that are returned-to. the latter by the second bucket conveyor 21 are properly cracked and shelled and then returned into the separator 18, and there'the meat is sifted to be discharged to the inner side |8 of the conveyor 2| as heretofore described.

All'the suction devices being of substantially the same structure the description of oneiwill suflice. The suction tube, such as the conduit 24, is curved rearwardly of the apparatus and is connected to the inlet of the blower 32. In order to regulate the force of the left at the intake end of the suction tube a regulator is provided, as particularly shown, in Fig. 7. This regulator consists of a side air inlet'8l into which slidably fitsa cylindrical valve 82 which latter in turn is open at its inner end and is closed bya plate 5 83 at its outer end. On the side of, said cylindrical valve 82 are a lurality of holes 84 which are smaller nearer the plate 83. and larger toward 3 the inner end of the valve 82. By pullingthe valve82 outwardly, more air issucked in at the side inlet 8| and vice versa, and the suction force at the bottom or intake end of the tubeor conduit 24 is correspondingly varied., Thus the suction can be adjusted to fit the types of nuts and shells hulled or shelled in the apparatus so as to assure complete and efficient separation of the empty shells from the product. 1

, Efficient separation of the shells is further enhanced by the use .of the blower structure illustrated'in Figures 8 and 9. i In this blower 32 the casing has a central inlet 86 and a substantially tangential outlet 81 which latter may discharge the shells into any suitable receptacle or conveyor not shown. The rotor of the blower has a hub 88 fixed on a shaft 88 which latteris iournalled in the casing of the blower opposite the inlet 88. From the hub 88 extends a baffle or disc 8| alongside and parallel with the back wall of the blower 32. From the face of the disc 8| in turn extend forwardly and toward the inlet a plurality of impeller blades 82. These blades 82 are not truly radial to the axis of rotation but are tangential thereto so as to incline away from the direction of the impeller rotation thereby to facilitate the sliding off of the shells into the tangential outlet 81. The blades 82 do not extend to the conical hub 88 but leave a circular space opposite the inlet 88 for receiving the shells. The empty shells are thus sucked against the center of the disc 8| and are from there slid off at great speed alongthe tangential blades 82 and out through the outlet 81. This form of blower was found to be the most eiilcient for continued operation with uniformly good result in lifting all the empty shells from the product.

My apparatus for cracking and shelling nuts by rolling pressure is illustrated in more detail v on Figures Hand 12 especially in connection with 75 walnuts. Each walnut 92 has a ridge 93, at which its halfshells join. .Transversely a walnut 92 is usually wider at the diameter connecting the bottoms of its cups or halfshells than the transverse or shorter ridge diameter. In other words the bottoms 94 of the; halfshells of a'walnut 92 are spaced apart farther than the transverse diameter of the ridge93. The ridge 93 usually protrudes slightly from the surfaceof the walnut 92 and is of double thickness. Consequently usually the weakest portions of a walnut 92 are the portions of the halfshells outside of the ridge 93.

The gradually tapering space between the drum cushions 41 and lining 36 of the cracker mechanism H urges the walnuts 92 to assume such a position that the walnut is rolled substantially around its longitudinal axis. The ridge 93 resists cracking longer than the more protuberant and weaker bottoms and sides of the'halfshells of the walnut 92, with the result that the weaker shell bottoms are cracked in the higher and wider spaces of the cracking mechanism It, and the ridges 93 are cracked thereafter. In this manner relatively more so called halves of. walnut are produced than heretofore produced by other cracking means. The splitting of the nuts so as to produce walnut meat in perfect halves without waste is automatically accomplished by the application of rolling pressure in a gradually diminishing squeezing or cracking space so as" to roll the walnut around 7 its longitudinal diameter as'an axis under constant, increasing transverse pressure.

In order to still further facilitate the removal of empty shells from the nut carrying conveyor by means of suction, the conyeyor may be made in steps or'sectionsj as shown in Figure '15. The conveyor 2| in this form is divided into two paths as heretofore" described but it isshortened. A plurality of short endless conveyors 96 are arrangedin downwardly stepped relation on a frame 91', so that the discharge ends 98 of each higher conveyor 99 overlaps the intake end 99 of the next lower conveyor 96. .All the conveyors 96 are divided by the central partition wall 22 so as to produce parallel downwardly stepped paths for the meat and partly cleaned shells as heretofore described. A pair of suction conduits 99 is provided above the discharge end 98 of each conveyor. Each conduit 99 has a suction head which fits over the curvature of the discharge end 98 of the respective conveyor. The suction condui ts 99 operate in the manner heretofore described in connection with the conduits 24 and 26, except that a portion of the suction head llll surrounds the curvature of the end 99 of the conveyor so as to lift by suction certain empty pieces of shells as they topple over and loosen at the discharge ends 99 1. The combination with a nut shelling mechanism, a second nut shelling mechanism being adapted to crack and shell smaller nuts and pieces of shells stillcontaining 'meat, means to separate from the productsof said nut shelling mechanisms thepieces of shells still containing meat, of means to automatically return said pieces of shells still containing meat to the said second nut shelling mechanism, and means toremove empty shells mixed with said meat or with said shells still containing meat, said last means including a plurality of endless conveyors arranged in overlapping stepped series, and a suction conduit having its intake superimposed on the turn at the discharge end 01. each conveyor so as to act upon said shells when the shells are loosened by the turns of said conveyors.

. 2. In combination a nut shelling. mechanism, a second nut shelling mechanism being adapted to crack and shell smaller nuts and pieces of shells still containing meat, a rotary drum to separate from the products of said nut shelling mechanisms the pieces of shells still containing meat and to discharge the separated products at different points, means to carry on separate paths the separately discharged products, means to automatically return said pieces of shells still containing meat from one separate path to the said secondv nut shelling mechanism, and suction meanslocated between the separating means and said returning means to remove the empty shells mixed with said meat or with said piecesof shells still containing meat. i

" PAUL DRAGON. 

